Too pretty to pay

[Trixie]

By me it seems that furniture stores always have sales where you don't pay the tax, which of course you do they just lower the price so it's equal. Which I guess sounds okay in theory but if you realize it only comes out 7% off I might wait for a better sale. But as I don't really go out buying furniture all the time it may actually work differently.

[MoonCat]

Re: stamps in stores, I thought stores just charged more as a service fee, since they aren't the "official" venue (the post office).

What gets me is when Americans get crappy about paying sales tax. We should all know about this!

[workerbee222]

I worked briefly in Rhode Island in a fabric store. Fabric for crafts was supposed to be taxed, but fabric for clothing wasn't. So, someone buying a pattern for doll clothing and a remnant paid a tax, someone who purchased enough to make a dress, no.

[EricKei]

"Tax free shopping" shows up in malls all the time. Foreign visitors have to fill out a special form at the register, submit passport info, etc -- fortunately, most remember to mention it BEFORE finishing the transaction, so we don't have to re-do it. They get charged as normal, with tax, and then turn over the form at Customs on their way out of the country. Happened often enough at gamestoreto be notable.

Trixie -- AFAIK, those are generally special arrangements made with their state/locality. Most stores, IIRC, do it the way you mentioned and then get reimbursed.

[Sparklyturtle]

One of the things I like about Oregon - no sales tax. I bought stamps recently at a grocery store, and paid the book face value.

[notalwaysright]

One of the things I like about Oregon - no sales tax. I bought stamps recently at a grocery store, and paid the book face value.

In the past, when I used stamps more, I would buy them at the grocery store and I don't remember the price being different than at the post office, and I don't live in Oregon.

A while ago the mall here did an "at par" sale. But it was not all stores, and made most people mad. Taxes have always made me just shrug. I understand the complexity and why it would be so hard/impossible to include tax in the shelf price. That doesn't stop me from wishing, though. And when you travel you deal with the country that you're in, you aren't some kind of island of your own country, like a mobile embassy.

I just googled "what to know when traveling in the USA" and two of the first four results mentioned how the US doesn't include tax. So any responsible traveler could have discovered this in about 30 seconds. On a completely random note, most of them said that we're super friendly and people might come talk to you while in public. I don't feel we're that friendly, except in forced retail and foodservice situations. So... Huh. Possibly I should mention that I get fascinated by cultural differences. Did you know that in Japan it's considered rude to use a tissue to wipe your nose? So everyone sits around sniffling.

[Jay 2K Winger]

I just googled "what to know when traveling in the USA" and two of the first four results mentioned how the US doesn't include tax. So any responsible traveler could have discovered this in about 30 seconds.

Yes, but people don't. Just like there are plenty of things we Americans could learn before going somewhere, but we don't.

The rest of the world looks down on Americans as ignorant, but it goes both ways. (Example: Top Google search in the UK the day following the Brexit vote was "What is Brexit"/"What does Brexit mean")

[Cia]

Some places in the US do include tax in the amount while other places don't.

[notalwaysright]

Yes, but people don't. Just like there are plenty of things we Americans could learn before going somewhere, but we don't.

The rest of the world looks down on Americans as ignorant, but it goes both ways. (Example: Top Google search in the UK the day following the Brexit vote was "What is Brexit"/"What does Brexit mean")

Oh, I know it, that's why I said "responsible traveler." I do research before I travel, but a lot can be said for just observing and going along with the locals. People can't even manage it while shopping at my work, or else people would notice that they need to take a ticket, instead of standing around and then getting upset that nobody helped them.

[EricKei]

On a completely random note, most of them said that we're super friendly and people might come talk to you while in public.

From what I understand, the notion of someone passing by a complete stranger, giving them a friendly wave and a "Hi!" is considered odd in some countries. I will admit that this sort of thing is much more likely the further South you go (y'all). Once you get down New Orleans way, talking to a new person for ten minutes could end up with you being invited to have dinner at their house (and they mean it!), no strings attached.

[greek_jester]

From what I understand, the notion of someone passing by a complete stranger, giving them a friendly wave and a "Hi!" is considered odd in some countries.

Sometimes it depends on where you're from in a country. I'm a Brit who used to live a half hour from London. If you live in or around London, you have a personal space bubble that you only breach when you're in the middle of a business transaction, and even then they are kept as brief and remote as possible. If you're on your own on a bus you head for an empty seat, unless there's none left, in which case many people will just stand rather than sit with a stranger. In general you avoid even making eye contact with anyone around you. It's the only way anyone can stay sane when crowded together with that many other people.

10 years ago I moved to another part of the country which was semi-rural. The day after we moved I went for a walk up the road to buy some milk. As I walked past someone walking their dog, they smiled and greeted me. My immediate reaction was to jump backwards a bit and brace myself; being approached on the street where I used to live was often the prelude to a mugging. I stammered a greeting, edged around them, and jogged towards the shop. When I got there I had another shock; the lady on the till actually greeted me and asked if I was down on holiday! Again with the stammered reply that we'd just moved up, I completed the transaction and hustled out of there as quickly as possible. Heck of a shock to the system, and my family actually asked if I was OK when I got back, I was that shell-shocked! I'm used to it now and much prefer it, but sometimes I do find it wearing to have to put on a smiley face and interact with strangers after having had nearly 30 years doing the opposite.

[Dreamstalker]

In the past, when I used stamps more, I would buy them at the grocery store and I don't remember the price being different than at the post office, and I don't live in Oregon.

My store has overhead ads for postage stamps, and the selling point seems to be "same price as the post office". We don't buy stamps anywhere but the PO anyway.

I do remember some stores here having stamp machines (basically the same as the sticker machines you see everywhere) and IIRC the stamps did cost a bit more--the machines only took quarters. I don't know if those were actually licensed by USPS or not.

[Deserted]

The deal specifically with stamp prices is, some places add surcharge. My mother owned a private mailbox store (think the old Mailboxes Etc. before the UPS buyout) and she added a charge to every stamp, i.e. a 20¢ would cost the customer something like 23¢. Her reasoning was, this place is like a convenience store: mom was buying the stamps from the post office so her customers wouldn't have to do it themselves. She was charging for her time, essentially.